Politicians Turn Up The Heat On Negligent Landlords

Public advocate Bill de Blasio and City Council members are launching a new initiative meant to hold landlords who skirt heating regulations more accountable.

For many New York City tenants, it's not just cold outside--the chill follows them into their apartments and stays there.

According to the Public Advocate’s office, last year tenants filed heat- or hot water-related complaints for 114,000 buildings. Now Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is introducing a new intuitive to strengthen penalties for landlords who skirt heating regulations.

Landlords already get fined for not fixing heat problems, but under the H.E.A.T. Act landlords who continually neglect to fix the problems will be forced to pay the maximum fine for an extended period.

State Senator Liz Krueger is supporting the bill, and has said that it's "far too easy for landlords to ignore violations.” She says the H.E.A.T. Act should provide an incentive for landlords to fix heating problems, by attacking their wallets.